NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open Thursday as oil prices continued to weigh on Wall Street, while investors also digested the weekly update on the employment market.

U.S. stock futures were down in early trading, pointing to a lower open on Wall Street.

Investors will also await the weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories due at 10:30 a.m. ET.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of jobless claims fell by 1,000 last week, but that the figure will be revised upward as the Gulf Coast begins to process unemployment applications.

Economists surveyed by Reuters expected claims to fall 5,000 to 315,000 for the week ended Sept. 3.

Oil prices were higher ahead of that report, which comes a day later than normal due to the Labor Day holiday. A sharp fall in oil prices Wednesday fueled a stock rally for the second straight day.

The October light crude futures contract for NYMEX gained 37 cents to $64.74 a barrel in electronic trading, while the October contract for Brent crude rose 42 cents to $63.31.

Bill Adams, chief energy and capital markets strategist for LaSalle Futures in Chicago, said the recent declines in oil prices came on promises of increased production from overseas and initial reports of facilities in the Gulf getting back on line. But he believes that the inventory report will reveal a sharper drawdown in supplies than previously expected.

"The Energy Information Agency has put out a fast plan, a medium plan and a slow plan for recovery. I think a lot more damage was done than expected and those are some of the numbers that are starting to come back," he said.

Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, with South Korean's leading index at a record high. Major European markets were lower in early trading.

Treasury prices edged upward, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.13 percent from 4.14 percent -- where it stood after Federal Reserve Governor Michael Moskow suggested late Wednesday that the Fed is not likely to pause in its path of measured interest rate hikes at its Sept. 20 meeting even with the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.

Economic reports due Thursday include the weekly reading of initial jobless claims, though that report may be distorted by government offices that were closed in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that claims slipped to 315,000 last week from 320,000 the week before.

In corporate news, The Wall Street Journal reports that online auction leader eBay (Research) is in talks to acquire privately held Internet-telephone company Skype Technologies for $2 billion to $3 billion.

The paper also reports that media conglomerate News Corp. (Research) has agreed to pay $650 million to acquire IGN Entertainment Inc., a network of video game-related Web sites that has filed for an initial public offering.

Luxury home builder Hovnanian Enterprises (Research) reported after the market close Thursday that it missed third-quarter earnings forecasts despite stronger sales and profits, and its guidance for future gains also fell below forecasts. Shares of Hovnanian fell $4.74, or eight percent, to $56.85, and other home builders also saw their shares fall after hours on concerns about the possible softening of the booming new home sales market.

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